Saint Francis Of Assisi Roman Catholic Church

Saint Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church600 Hamilton Street, Norristown, Pennsylvania, 19401Telephone: 610‐272‐0402Cardinal Dougherty established Saint Francis of Assisi (SFA) Churchon June 9. 1923. His Eminence appointed Reverend Francis J. Ross.D.D. as the first rector. Father Ross resided at St. Patrick's rectoryduring the early phase of our parish. On Sunday. June 17. 1923,Father Ross celebrated the first masses of St. Francis of Assisi Parishat eight o'clock and ten o'clock a.m. on the lawn of the Charles D.McAvoy residence. Father Ross repeated his open air masses on thefollowing Sunday. Daniel Skelly. recognizing the need for a morepermanent place of worship. convinced the Hanranft family to allowa barn on their property to be used as a temporary church. On July I. 1923, by the grace of God andthe skills of the good men of the parish, the barn was transformed into our first church. Thisstructure was used continuously until December 1923. The prayers of the congregation wereespecially strong during this period, preventing the occurrence of cold weather and heavy rain,either of which would have forced the closure of the church.On September 27. 1923. ground was broken on the corner of Marshall and Buttonwood Streets for anew church. On land that had once been used for farming, the men of the parish helped to erect awooden building that would become the first permanent building of the parish. This purchase. for 22.000 from the Fornance estate, would set the stage for the future expansion of our parish. Withpews and kneelers made by the boys from the Protectory. one side altar donated by the B.V.M.Sodality, the Stations of the Cross paid for by various parish families and a small pipe organ from St.Patrick's, the first Mass was said in our new chapel on December 23, 1923. Later on, after the schoolbuilding was erected, the chapel would serve as a meeting hall and the site for other parishactivities, such as Communion breakfasts and youth dances.In September 1924, the cornerstone of the school was laid. This building would serve a multitude ofpurposes throughout the history of our parish. The "Corson Streeters" raised fifty‐one dollars andseventy‐five cents during their annual street party on Kohn Street for the school building fund. (A22% increase over the previous year.) The school, located on the middle floor, was opened inSeptember 1927. The convent, which had been located at 572 Noble Str4et, was transferred to thetop floor of the new building. Reverend Dennis A. Coghlan succeeded Father Ross in 1927 and ledour parish until July 1944. This date marks the beginning of the next significant phase of our parish.

In July 1944, Father Charles J. McGovern was assigned to ourparish as pastor. Father McGovern would be instrumental inbuilding our present church, a new convent and a rectory. With adriven enthusiasm and a vision of the future. Father McGovernbegan the task of raising the funds necessary to fulfill his dreams.In 1949, the 25'h year of our parish. Father McGovern put togethera jubilee yearbook. Do you remember Haley's Paint Store. LondonMotors, or Helen's Restaurant? Shannon Coal Company offered a ton of coal and Steffano Furniturea Chippendale barrel chair as door prizes for the celebration. These local businesses. along withmany others, helped make that jubilee a success. In 1951, Father McGovern opened the presentconvent. During the dedication ceremonies, Bishop Hugh L Lamb. who had officiated, remarked thata new church could be on its way. thus initiating the next phase of parish development.Father McGovern laid the cornerstone for our present church in1954. As part of the plan to build the church, the chapel wasshifted to the bottom floor of the school building (now the parishhall/gymnasium). Door to door solicitations and parishionerpledges raised 380,000 for the building. One of the majorattractions during the construction was the placement of theMoses statue in the church. Traffic was stopped, and the schoolchildren were allowed to go outside to witness a giant cranelowering the statue into its place. Before the roof was completed the dome over the altar was alsolowered into its place. Father McGovern researched and designed the stained glass windows of thechurch, using the famous churches of Rome as his models. On Sunday, November 13, 1955. theMost Reverend Edwin V. Byrne of Santa Fe, New Mexico dedicated our present church. FatherMcGovern directed his estate to pay off the debt left on the church after his death in 1964. FatherMcGovern lies next to the main entrance of the church he loved.Monsignor Howard Hood succeeded Father McGovern at SFA in1962. Monsignor Flood was responsible for the construction of theschool annex in 1968. Monsignor Flood also commissioned themural of our patron saint in the church. Monsignor Flood becamepastor emeritus in 1970.Father Paul Maloney became our pastor in August 1969. FatherMaloney would remain our pastor until November 1986. FatherMaloney would be challenged by the need to maintain the beautifulbuildings and grounds of the parish at a time of economic turmoil and shrinking collections. FatherMaloney was instrumental in the placement of windows in the choir area. had the fans installed inthe church, and established the Monday night bingo.Father James F. Cassidy took up Father Maloney's burden in November 1986 but was stricken by

illness shortly after he began his tenure at St. Francis.Father George P. Ettorre was assigned to SPA in November 1988. Father Ettorre set to his task ofrenewing the grandeur of St. Francis with enthusiasm. Ile sought to make spiritual and physicalimprovements to our parish. Father started the October celebration of the feast novena of St.Francis, the renewal of our Forty Hours Devotion, the Lenten Scripture Series, and a renewedcommitment to the RCIA program. Father began the physical renewal with repairs to the rectoryand convent. Then, at Father's request, donations were secured toreplace the original wooden doors of the church with doors depicting the significance of the saintsin our lives. The bell tower, silent for many years. now sounds it renewed chimes for all to enjoy. Anew heating system was installed, and the pews restored, as the refurbishing of the churchcontinued. Father Ettorre established the pledge campaign, whose contributions are honored onplaques near the main entrance of the church. to begin the cleaning and repainting of the churchinterior. Exterior improvements include restoration of the dome over the Baptistery, and the belltower. The Ladies of St. Francis commissioned the creation and installation of the new permanentstone monument identifying our church.The needs of our school have been addressed as well. Father Ettorre refurbished the schoolhall/gymnasium, including improvements to the kitchen and the installation of the air conditioningsystem, making it the focal point of the parish. The Ladies of St. Francis helped in this task byreplacing the floor. Many activities take plac3 here. including parish dances. Christmas bazaars,school graduation parties. CYO sporting events and school plays. Father Ettorre brought back bingo,not only as a source of funds. but to add to the diversity of parish life. The main roof of the schoolwas replaced; rooms in the school painted, the heating system repaired, and the school made abetter place to learn. Father Ettorre began the pre‐school and CARES programs. He made weeklyvisits to the eighth grade class to teach the students Spanish. During Father's tenure, the St. FrancisCarnival was established and has become a noted springtime event in Norristown.More about Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School.Reverend Francis Ross blessed our school on August 29. 1926. In addition to the school, the churchand convent were housed in the school building at Oak and Buttonwood Streets. The SFA schoolopened on September 7. 1926 with 176 students in the first through seventh grades. MotherHenrietta was the first Superior of the school, starting an association with the Sisters of SaintJoseph. which continues today.Our school has helped many children to success in life through encouraging participation inacademics. church functions, sports and community activities. In 1943 the school children wereactive in War Bond sales and received the Minute Man flag for their efforts. During this time period.St. Francis fielded its first football team and earned the name "Haley's Comets" after their spiritualleader, Father Haley. who later went into the Army as a Chaplin. Enrollment in in 1943 had

increased to 345 students. Over the years. our school has put on a variety of shows and plays. In1951. Show Boat was the theme of the show. Once upon a Summer was presented in 1960. Do youremember selling Gold, Silver and Blue patrons to support the shows? Oliver was a more recentaddition to this fine tradition. The rousing Spring Shows of 1997 and 1998 continued our children'stradition of entertaining the parish with show tunes and exuberance. The children are alsoresponsible for the Nativity tableau on Christmas Eve. As our school grew and society changed, thenumber of Sisters teaching at the school declined. Lay teachers have continued the Sisters of SaintJoseph tradition and have enriched our children's' lives through their devotion and caring. Theschool has been active in supporting many charitable activities. Do you remember pagan babyransoms and the Golden Mass for the poor? The Rice Bowl campaign continues the legacy ofhelping the poor.The school annex, built by Monsignor Flood, helped to make St. Francis one of the largest schools inthe area and to allow more students to receive a Catholic education. The annex has become thehome of the lower grades, including kindergarten and pre‐kindergarten. The annex has also beenthe staging ground for many of the parish activities including the feast, the carnival, Cub Scout andBrownie meetings and the after school CARES program.Over the years. our school has enjoyed many famous visitors. Cardinal Bevilacqua was embraced byour children during a very special visit. Jerry Spinelli. hometown author of children books andWilliam Fuller. from the Philadelphia Eagles spoke to the children during school assemblies. Otherevents that have added to the richness of school life at St. Francis have included outdoor Stations ofthe Cross, the Science Fair, Catholic Schools Week and Crazy Hat Day.The Norristown Police Department sponsored a program where the children learned about safetyon the streets and in the home. The sponsorship of the D.A.R.E. Program by the Home & SchoolAssociation has educated our children on drug awareness. The parish CYO has administerednumerous sports programs for the children of St. Francis for many years.Our children continue to participate in many school activities. The annual Turkey Bowl is playedbetween the seventh and eighth grades. The chess and checkers tournaments draw many playersfor the lunchtime competition. In the Spring, Field Day and the Walk‐A‐Thon arc popular events.Halloween parades, Easter egg hunts and many other special happenings add color and memoriesto our children's lives.